Yes, it was the influence of racism coupled with easy access to guns and irrational fear that lead to this tragedy. Racism fuels Stand Your Ground. It’s time to get real about the motivations behind this aggression. Please give what happened to her serious consideration and do not lump her with other people and other situations, namely black males. And it’s sad to say but this is also part of the backlash of the mass acceptance of criminality. It was mostly contained to black males, but it is now being extended to wreck havoc on black women. Coincidentally, the Wayne County Prosecutor is a black woman, with a reputation for being very skilled at her job and no-nonsense. Pleading this case based on race alone may not be enough of an incentive to get the office to prosecute. That would be a civil suit, where the burden of proof is much lower. Sad to say as well, but we don’t know if this is a viable criminal case. And prosecutors like to have winning cases to try. There’s nothing wrong with adding attention. So Thursday morning, I woke up to find my Twitter feed talking about a woman who had been shot and killed when seeking help after a car accident. The response was unprecedented. I’ve been discussing this with a self-described mixed-race woman in the UK who was outraged by this and wanted to make sure all of the American news media covered this. She read about it in British print media. You have to acknowledge the efforts of black women advocates who took to the Interwebs 6-7 years ago to discuss matters of importance with the welfare of other black women in mind. It has permanently changed the landscape of what is covered in the news and how it’s reported. CNN and some other networks had not covered the story until almost mid-morning/early afternoon but it had taken off through social networks for several hours. Also, some local residents held a rally Thursday evening to make sure this matter is addressed. Rallies are not effective tools, but the fact that people were concerned enough to act on behalf of a black woman victim is progress. Somewhat. I want to be sensitive to the family in case they read this, but we know part of the outrage has to do with the fact the man who shot Ms. McBride is white. And if you’ve been a long-term reader at this forum you know we’ve discussed the most violent and dangerous scenarios for black women by and large is within black neighborhoods, committed by black males. So, those people who are outraged about this also need to seek remedy for that. And help education more black women to remove themselves from toxic places and expand their social circles.

This Daily Show skit touches on consumerism, hypocrisy, racism and apathy with precision and humor…with black people! And some people are surprised that a man who expresses no remorse for being a drug dealer is all about the money?

I really respect much of bell hooks’ canon but she is very attached to “white male capitalist patriarchy” which to me boils down to a white hegemony argument. Which may have worked somewhat for women from her generation, but is not effective for contemporary generations, where building key alliances means doing so outside the dead black community. That support for black women was never there to begin with.

Kudos to MHP for acknowledging her lighter-skin privilege and proximity to whiteness as the biracial black child of a white mother. It needed to be said.

The woman who self-identified as both “feminist” and “low income”, who mentioned she was pregnant with her fifth child, that the child’s father had just walked out on her and her lament about not being able to connect with other blacks was gut-wrenching to hear. Yet, she also railed against any accountability for her choices and came across as particularly defensive about doing something different to change her circumstances. Her anger seemed to indicate a firm wall of resistance even as she clearly wants meaningful relationships – and relief. It’s a two way street though and in today’s economic an political climate people are less likely to want to encourage learned helplessness, let alone provide a government program-oriented safety net for others when they’re increasingly unstable. Or just don’t care.

For those of you who watch Iyanla Vanzant. Victim blaming from false “prophets” and why no one should think a person dispensing advice for a paycheck on tv is above reproach. And if like attracts like then it speaks volumes about why she and Oprah are working together.

Can we get a mass enrollment with highly skilled mental health professionals now that the Affordable Care Act is accepting enrollment? It’s time for blacks to purge the burdens of the past in some type of mass psychoanalytical release while acknowledging the obstacles to move forth unfettered.

Ava DuVernay on changing your mindset and doing the work to get what you want and where you want to be. Yearning with action and not desperation.